News: Iran Economy

Iran Regime Losing Its Power as Economy Continues Its Decline

Written by Staff Writer on 30 January 2019.

By Staff Writer

On January 24th, the Majlis, Iran regime’s Parliament, published a report by its Research Center about the economic forecast for the next Iranian year. According to state run Ilna News Agency, the report shows an anticipated negative growth rate of -4.5 to -5.5 percent.

Iran regime’s President Rouhani had promised an economic growth of 4 percent. However, an assessment by the Majlis Research Center shows that if the Iranian regime can export 1.9 million bpd of oil and natural gas condensate over the next year, Iran's economy will have a negative rate of growth of 4.5 percent. If the exports drop to 1.5 million bpd, the rate of growth will be -5.5 percent, as reported by the Donya-e Eqtesad website.

In October of 2018 Reuters was already reporting that Iranian oil exports had dropped down to 1.1 million bpd. Today, it is apparent that the number is well below 1 million bpd. Last month the sum of petrochemical and natural gas condensate was zero. The crisis is far worse than what was anticipated by the Majlis Research Center.

On January 24th, 2019, the Washington Times wrote, “A veritable mountain of statistical evidence points to the fact that, in the past four decades of clerical rule, the Islamic Republic has experienced a precipitous decline in domestic prosperity and global standing. According to the World Bank, per capita GDP in Iran has declined by more than 30 percent in real terms since the mid-1970s, as the purchasing power of the country’s national currency, the rial, has plummeted. Those same statistics indicate that Iran’s economy has dropped from 17th to 27th place in the world in the four decades since the revolution — one of the steepest declines in modern history."

The regime's own experts say the effect on the people of Iran is catastrophic. For instance, Mohammad Reza Sabbagihan, Member of Majlis, said on January 22nd, "This situation is breaking people's backs. The prices on some commodities have risen 100% or even 200%.” The economist, Farshad Momeni, added on January 23rd, "The poverty line compared to the previous year has grown by 20 per cent."

As yet, the regime has taken no serious action to mitigate the situation. Any investigation would likely undermine the regime's very existence, because the money that flowed into Iran following implementation of the nuclear deal didn’t just “vanish”. It has been used for war mongering policies in the region, terrorist plots around the world, missile developments, and nuclear ambitions. Many claim that it has also been transferred to personal accounts of the regime's leaders.

In 2013, an investigation by Reuters news agency uncovered evidence that a financial empire worth some $95 billion is controlled by the regime's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. This fortune was allegedly amassed through property seizures and shady transactions. The Washington Times reports that other regime insiders, such as parliament speaker Ali Larijani and foreign minister Javad Zarif have personal fortunes worth tens of millions of dollars.

Ordinary Iranians are becoming increasingly angry and vocal. The uprising that began at the turn of last year, has continued ever since. The people don’t believe that meaningful reform is possible under the country’s current leadership. The protests in Iran will go on until the people’s desire for regime change is met.